Though children are capable of describing themselves and their lives in candid and lucid fashion (e.g., Coles, 1970), their voices are easily supplanted or discredited by the adult (Cahan, Mechling, Sutton-Smith, &amp; White, 1993). A similar phenomenon, girls' loss of self-identity and voice, has been studied by Gilligan (1982). The research design of this dissertation, a qualitative, phenomenological approach, facilitates the documentation of children's social worlds. Extensive observations, interviews, home visits, monolingual and bilingual dialogue journal interactions, and a researcher as "peer" role are among the methodological tools used to provide a panoramic of Mexican and Mexican American language minority children's social worlds. Additionally, the dissertation has been guided by an interdisciplinary approach to the study of children's social worlds and inner lives. This approach is reflected in the dissertation itself, as found, for example, in the following chapters: A Socio-Historic Perspective to Understanding the Development of Childhood in South Tucson, Arizona; A Phenomenological Approach to the Construction of Reality; An Ecological Approach to Human Development and its Social Context; Bronfenbrenner's Ecology of Human Development; and Consequences of El'konin's Theoretical Premise. Children's social worlds or peer cultures are at worst viewed pejoratively, as inferior subcultures, especially for minority children. This perception is misleading, inferring that these worlds are necessarily insignificant and detrimental to the child (Marsh, Rosser &amp; Harre, 1978). Within the many social worlds children create for themselves and those which they participate in, children gain vital knowledge and create networks of support crucial to their development and survival as humans. Those worlds are evidenced in ecological environments where children lead creative, meaningful, and sometimes problematic lives. The educational and societal potential for understanding those social worlds lies in its contributions to the development and practice of pedagogically relevant theory.

Though children are capable of describing themselves and their lives in candid and lucid fashion (e.g., Coles, 1970), their voices are easily supplanted or discredited by the adult (Cahan, Mechling, Sutton-Smith, &amp; White, 1993). A similar phenomenon, girls' loss of self-identity and voice, has been studied by Gilligan (1982). The research design of this dissertation, a qualitative, phenomenological approach, facilitates the documentation of children's social worlds. Extensive observations, interviews, home visits, monolingual and bilingual dialogue journal interactions, and a researcher as "peer" role are among the methodological tools used to provide a panoramic of Mexican and Mexican American language minority children's social worlds. Additionally, the dissertation has been guided by an interdisciplinary approach to the study of children's social worlds and inner lives. This approach is reflected in the dissertation itself, as found, for example, in the following chapters: A Socio-Historic Perspective to Understanding the Development of Childhood in South Tucson, Arizona; A Phenomenological Approach to the Construction of Reality; An Ecological Approach to Human Development and its Social Context; Bronfenbrenner's Ecology of Human Development; and Consequences of El'konin's Theoretical Premise. Children's social worlds or peer cultures are at worst viewed pejoratively, as inferior subcultures, especially for minority children. This perception is misleading, inferring that these worlds are necessarily insignificant and detrimental to the child (Marsh, Rosser &amp; Harre, 1978). Within the many social worlds children create for themselves and those which they participate in, children gain vital knowledge and create networks of support crucial to their development and survival as humans. Those worlds are evidenced in ecological environments where children lead creative, meaningful, and sometimes problematic lives. The educational and societal potential for understanding those social worlds lies in its contributions to the development and practice of pedagogically relevant theory.

en_US

dc.type

text

en_US

dc.type

Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic)

en_US

thesis.degree.name

Ph.D.

en_US

thesis.degree.level

doctoral

en_US

thesis.degree.discipline

Language, Reading and Culture

en_US

thesis.degree.discipline

Graduate College

en_US

thesis.degree.grantor

University of Arizona

en_US

dc.contributor.chair

Moll, Luis C.

en_US

dc.contributor.committeemember

McCarty, Teresa

en_US

dc.contributor.committeemember

Ruiz, Richard R.

en_US

dc.identifier.proquest

9517537

en_US

All Items in UA Campus Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.